


'Twas the Night

by SophiaHawkins



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Christmas, sevasey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28101756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaHawkins/pseuds/SophiaHawkins
Summary: A year ago Matt Casey's apartment was set on fire and he lost everything. A year later he decides it's time to move out from Kelly's apartment and get a place he can call home again in time for Christmas. It's a big adjustment for both men, but Severide has plans of his own for the captain.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A few things about this story. I hate that this even needs to be mentioned but, Otis is alive (yay!), Foster does not exist in this canon, Stella exists but she and Severide are not together. Hope you enjoy!

'Twas the Night

Kelly Severide couldn't contain the minor shock and disbelief on his face when he'd heard Casey's sudden revelation.

"You're, you're moving out?" he asked.

"Kelly, I've been here almost a year," Casey said, "it's-"

"I told you it was fine," Severide cut him off, not understanding where this was coming from, "I told you you could stay here as long as you wanted."

"And I have, and you have _no_ idea how much I appreciate it," Matt told him, "but it's time I get my own place again, Kelly. I miss having my own home."

Kelly sighed and slowly nodded, "You're right, I'm sorry...I get it..." he sighed again, "When?"

"I've been looking at some places for rent...there's one tomorrow I want to check out, and if it works out, I'd probably be moving in at the first of the month."

Kelly wasn't sure how to respond. He merely nodded and said quietly, "Okay."

Casey let out a small laugh and couldn't resist commenting, "You're so cute when you're upset."

"I'm not upset."

Casey looked at him knowingly.

"It's been great having you here," Kelly told him.

"It's been great having a place to stay after my apartment burnt down," Casey replied, "Seriously, I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't let me stay."

"You would've been fine," Kelly responded.

"I don't know...I've really needed this, Kelly," Casey told him.

"If it doesn't work out...or _anything_ happens," Kelly said, "you can always come back here."

Casey nodded. "Thank you." He closed the gap between them and hugged Kelly.

"Will you come with me tomorrow?" he asked as he pulled back.

"Sure, why?" Kelly asked.

"Well, I figure you'll probably be spending the night so it's only fair you have some say in where that's going to be," Casey answered.

Kelly chuckled.

* * *

2 weeks later-

Casey answered the door and saw Kelly standing in the hall carrying a pizza and wings and a pack of beer. "So you settled in yet?"

"Getting there," Casey said as he held the door open for Kelly to walk in.

Kelly looked around. Casey had finally put his insurance settlement to good use and gotten new furniture, it was nice, it was _him_ , but...he couldn't help noticing the place was still a bit sparse.

"So what do you think?" Casey asked.

"I like it," he said as he headed for the kitchen.

"It still needs a few things, but it's coming along," Matt replied.

"Yeah well, at least tonight you don't have to cook." For that matter, Kelly stepped over to the fridge and looked in. Typical Casey, looked like he hadn't been doing much cooking anyway.

They got their plates dished up and sat on the new couch to watch TV.

"So..." Kelly cleared his throat halfway through the meal, "is anybody coming over for Christmas?"

Casey shook his head, "Christie's going out of town, Violet's at the age where she's hardly home as is and the holidays aren't an exception, and my mom decided to get involved so she's volunteering at a battered women's shelter."

"Points for originality," Kelly commented. He looked around the living room with its wide open gaps between the furniture and asked, "You getting one of those artificial trees?"

"Nah," Casey said, "I don't feel like going to all the trouble...maybe next year."

Kelly just nodded.

"It's already been a lot to adjust to," Matt told him.

"I get it," Kelly replied.

He'd had a lot to adapt to himself now that Casey had moved out, and he was still adapting. He still hadn't gotten used to the heavy silence of his apartment when he came home at night or when he got up in the morning and Casey wasn't there to talk to; there wasn't somebody else running the water in the shower or making the pans on the stove hiss and sizzle by cooking breakfast, or unlocking the front door to get the paper, or having the buzzing of his razor leaking through the bathroom wall and directly behind the headboard of Severide's bed. Kelly had known that things would be different without Casey there, but he hadn't known how lonely it was going to be. He had just gotten so used to having a roommate to talk to, to head to work with, to debate what to pickup for dinner, to watch TV with on the nights that neither of them had any plans, some nights when they were really bored they dug out a game and wound up ready to strangle each other over who had the high score. He'd even gotten used to the times Casey fell asleep on the couch and he was left to decide whether to leave him there or wake him up and send him off to his room. A couple of times he'd taken a third option and without waking Casey up, somehow, picked him up from the couch and carried him to his room and put him to bed.

Looking back now he wondered how he survived all those years he was on his own and nobody stayed past the night or maybe a couple days.

"Kelly."

"Huh?" the sound of his name drew him out of his thoughts and he blinked and turned to Casey, "Sorry, what?"

"I said is everything alright?" Matt asked.

Kelly nodded, "Yeah, everything's fine."

* * *

Casey crept out of his bedroom and tried to make his way to the kitchen without waking Kelly. Between them they'd drunk the whole pack of beer and he'd pointed out it would be a smart idea for Severide to stay the night and drive back in the morning. Kelly had agreed and had made himself comfortable on the couch, and he was still there sawing logs at that very moment.

Matt was still memorizing the layout of the apartment so he felt his way along to work in the dark instead of turning on the light. He got a glass from the shelf over the sink, got a drink of water, downed half of it in one swallow, refilled his glass to the top, and then headed back to his room.

He heard Kelly turning over on the couch, and suddenly his snoring stopped.

"Matt?"

"Sorry," Casey said as he stepped over to the couch, "I was trying not to wake you."

"You didn't."

"What's wrong?"

He heard Kelly scooting around on the couch and he answered, "It's chilly in here."

"Yeah, sorry about that, the thermostat's been acting up," Casey said, "I'll get you another blanket."

"You know that offer to come back is still good," Kelly said, even though Casey was already out of earshot.

A minute later he heard Casey's footsteps return and felt something heavy dropped on him.

"Try this one, it should help," Casey told him.

Kelly grabbed at the blanket and unfolded it, it felt vaguely familiar, but something didn't seem right. "Where's that fleece one you had last winter?"

After Casey lost everything in the apartment fire, he'd reluctantly accepted help from Herrmann and Cindy, who provided him with enough essentials to start getting back to something resembling normal. Cindy, God bless her, had had the presence of mind to know winter in Chicago was a brutal time and gotten him a heavy fleece blanket among the clothes and other daily necessities, which had seen heavy use while he was sleeping on Severide's couch.

"Fell apart in the washer," Matt answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh. Are _you_ warm enough?"

"Yeah," Casey answered, Kelly wasn't sure whether he sounded convincing or not, and for the moment he was too cold and tired to really care.

"Goodnight, Kelly."

"Goodnight," he responded as he burrowed under the covers.

Kelly waited until he heard the bedroom door close, then he dug his arms out from under the blankets and folded them behind his head as he stared up at the pitch dark ceiling, and started to brainstorm.


	2. Chapter 2

December 21st-

_"Hey Casey, are you going to make it to Molly's tonight? For once they've actually got a decent sized crowd."_

Casey held his phone to his ear and could make out the usual sounds of people ordering drinks and the guys from 51 chattering to each other about something or other and could faintly hear Christmas music on the jukebox.

"I don't think so, Kelly," he replied.

It had been a long, rough week at 51 and he was exhausted and just wanted to take it easy. He didn't feel like getting out in the subzero temperatures and driving to Molly's to mingle with 20 people, just to trek back in the freezing cold and go to bed.

"Oh come on, Casey, everybody's asking about you."

He heard the phone shift and in the background he could distinctly hear several people's voices calling for him to come on down there and join them, he could hear Herrmann goading him, "C'mon, Casey", after that there was Otis, "Come on, man" and behind him Kidd was agonizingly whining, "Ple-e-e-e-ase" as if his presence would somehow salvage whatever was going on down there, and somewhere in there he could hear people groaning at something Capp had done.

"I appreciate it, but I'm just going to pass on this one," Casey told Severide, "I'm just going to order a pizza for dinner, do nothing for the night, and get some sleep."

Several moans of disappointment were audible on the other end of the line before Kelly's voice came through loud and clear again, "Okay, if that's what you want to do."

"It is, I'm sorry," Casey replied.

"Eh, that's okay, maybe after next shift," Kelly said.

"Yeah," Casey tiredly nodded, "we'll talk about it then."

"Okay," Kelly conceded, "bye."

"Bye."

Casey disconnected the call, and just set his phone on the table when he heard someone knocking on the front door. Now what?

Grumbling to himself, Casey went to the door, undid the locks, opened it up, and-

"SURPRISE!"

Casey jumped back with a startled yelp as a flood of people started pouring into his apartment, faster than his brain could even register what was going on. Several had already stepped in before anybody clearly came into view, and the first ones that did were Tony and Capp dragging opposite ends of a box for a 9 foot artificial Christmas tree. Behind them was Stella carrying two large shopping bags, behind her was Herrmann carrying a large square box that looked like it was for a punch bowl. Casey turned on his heel and was watching this menagerie parading into his living room when he heard somebody call him. He turned and was blindsided by somebody kissing him, who it turned out was Sylvie, who when she pulled back Casey saw she was wearing plush reindeer antlers and was holding a sprig of mistletoe in her hand complete with a big red bow on it.

"Merry Christmas, Casey," she said with a slight slur, "I'm making the punch, lou'll yove it." With that she sauntered over to the kitchen.

Behind her, Otis and Cruz stepped in, both with knowing looks on their faces and Cruz, hands thrust deep in his coat pockets, subtly stepped over to Casey and commented half under his breath, "She had a few drinks before we left the apartment so she's already half drunk and she's been doing that to _everybody_ since we pulled up."

"Thanks for the warning," Casey said, still not sure what to make of anything that was going on.

He looked through the sea of people and finally found the one he wanted to see and made his way over to Severide.

"You did this?" he asked in disbelief.

Kelly just stood there with a smug grin on his face and replied, "Ma-a-ybe."

"Kelly."

"I knew you wouldn't come to Molly's, so Herrmann closed down early for the night and we decided to bring the Christmas party here," Severide explained.

"You son of a bitch."

Kelly just chuckled and told him, "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"I'm finding that out," Casey replied as he playfully punched the Squad lieutenant. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Come on, it's your first Christmas in a new home, you weren't going to do anything, so somebody had to," Kelly said.

Casey looked at him and shook his head, "I don't even know what to say."

"Hey come on!" Stella bellowed to be heard over everybody else, "Let's get this party started."

* * *

Casey quickly found out part of why so many people had come to his apartment was simply because of the sheer necessity of the available manpower. Everybody had carried something in: the tree, which it took four people to unfold all the individual branches and put together, which it turned out came pre-lit with hundreds of clear lights, shopping bags full of brand new ornaments: colored lights, silver garland, colored balls, bells, tinsel icicles, and a golden star for the tops, bags of groceries for the party, most of it was ready made though a few things still required assembly: pigs in a blanket, crackers and cheese, and something Brett called sherbet punch, with a hefty amount of vodka thrown in. Everybody was chattering over each other as everybody alternated between getting the food set up, getting the tree set up, unboxing the ornaments, even with a dozen people in the apartment working together it still took all of them nearly an hour to get the tree fully decorated, after which most of them looked at the shining, glittering eyeful they'd created and oohed and aahed at how the tinsel and glitter shone in the multi-colored lights.

After that was done, everybody dug into the food and drank the punch and talked, mostly about a whole lot of nothing, very much like the Christmas parties they had at Molly's every year. Casey felt like he was in a whirlwind, he wasn't used to having company over to begin with, especially not in such large numbers and he was not used to having people over and not being the host. He didn't get a chance to do anything, the refreshments were already taken care of, the guys unboxed the tree and set it up, all he had to do was stand back and watch the madness unfold. He'd more stood back and directed the others when they decorated the tree, as opposed to putting the ornaments on himself, though Herrmann had insisted he _had_ to put the star on himself to officially make it his. He still couldn't believe that this was happening, that Kelly had arranged this whole thing, that everybody had dropped what they were doing and come there, that anybody would go to so much trouble just for him.

His thoughts were broken up by the sudden commotion of people arguing about what to watch on TV, Stella had grabbed the remote away from Mouch and rapped his knuckles with it, insisting they were going to watch "Elf", which earned her a round of boos from the guys. Otis snatched the remote away from her and instead turned it to a channel playing a black and white version of "A Christmas Carol", insisting it was the best version ever made, and it was impossible to get through the Christmas season without seeing it. Casey looked around at how cramped everyone was trying to find a place to sit. In the midst of everybody hauling in everything but the kitchen sink, they'd had the presence of mind to bring a few folding chairs to better accommodate everyone, but several of them still had to sit on the floor, the apartment was definitely under-furnished for this many visitors, he honestly hadn't counted on anyone other than Severide coming over on a regular basis, and to be honest he found the whole ordeal slightly overwhelming.

"Come on, Casey," Kelly was suddenly jerking him by the arm, "sit down and watch the movie."

Casey watched as everybody on the couch scooted over every which way to make room for him in the middle, Severide seated himself on the arm of the couch, and to say it was a tight fit would be the understatement of the year. Casey looked around at Stella and Mouch and Otis and Sylvie, and flashed on an episode of M*A*S*H where Hawkeye tried to squeeze 20 people in a jeep.

"If this is going to be a regular occurrence around here, I definitely need to rethink the layout here," he murmured.

"Shhh," the others chided.

Gradually, maybe because of how much vodka Brett had put in the punch, Casey started to find it easier to relax and enjoy what was happening, and not worry about not being in control of the situation, and just be thankful for the company of his firehouse family who thought enough about him to pull this off. With some difficulty he leaned back against the couch and joined the others in laughing at the movie on TV.

* * *

By the time the movie ended, it had gotten late, and a quick peek outside told everybody all they needed to know, nobody was going anywhere. The snow had started on their way over to Casey's apartment, and it looked like there was already a good half foot on the ground, and as much as they'd all had to drink, none of them had any business being out on the road, which presented a new challenge, finding enough places for everyone to sleep.

"Okay," Otis said as he and Cruz exited the bathroom, "We got Brett in the tub, figured that would contain most of the damage when she wakes up hungover."

"Much obliged," Casey said, definitely _not_ anticipating having to clean up vomit from the floor tomorrow. All throughout the evening, Sylvie kept helping herself to the punch, and that coupled with what she'd had to drink before they came over, she'd succeeded in getting falling down drunk and had to be escorted to the bathroom before she passed out entirely.

"This is starting to remind me of 'A Muppet Family Christmas'," Otis commented as he sat down, "At this rate a couple people will probably have to sleep on a hanger hooked on the wall."

"You're being weird again, Otis," Cruz told him.

"I don't know what we're going to do," Casey told Severide as he looked around, "I don't know _where_ we're going to put everyone. I hadn't planned on everybody having to stay here for the night." For the moment it escaped him that he hadn't planned on any of this, hadn't _had_ to plan for any of it.

"Don't worry, we'll get it figured out," Kelly assured him. "We got plenty of floor space."

"But not enough pillows or blankets."

"We'll turn the thermostat up, it's working now, isn't it?"

Casey merely nodded, but he was not anticipating this night ending well.

* * *

Casey woke up the next morning with a stiff neck and a sore back, and a sore everything for that matter. He opened his eyes and saw the sun coming in the window and found himself sprawled cockeyed across his side of the bed, he tried to get his neck to move and turned over and his eyes bulged as he took in the sight of Kelly Severide asleep on the other side of the bed, but that wasn't what had shocked him. What did was the sight of Otis sandwiched between them. What the hell had gone on last night?

When he moved it started a chain reaction and the other two firefighters were also awake, and equally stiff and sore from trying to all fit in the bed last night.

"Morning, Casey," Severide said with a pronounced yawn as he stretched his arms high over his head.

"What happened last night?" Casey wanted to know.

"I don't know," Kelly shook his head.

Casey turned and stretched, and then saw something else.

"And _whose_ idea was this?" he asked as he pointed to a string of Christmas lights that had been wrapped over the headboard.

Kelly shrugged, "Beats me."

Casey looked at them for a minute and didn't say anything, but it didn't actually look bad. Maybe he'd keep them up until after Christmas. They certainly hadn't kept him up last night.

"Hey, it's quiet," Otis realized.

One by one they got up and headed to the door, Casey opened it and stepped out into the next room, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Everybody was huddled around the living room asleep in various places and positions. They'd pulled the hide-a-bed out of the couch and Stella was asleep at the foot of it, absently making scowling faces at the smell of the feet on either side of her face, which belonged to Cruz and Mouch. Herrmann and Tony were asleep on the floor alongside the couch, and Capp for some reason was curled up asleep under the Christmas tree.

In the cold light of day, Casey saw all this, and remembered the events of last night, and he wanted to laugh. This was by far the best Christmas he'd had in years.

"I guess I better start the coffee," he quietly said to Severide as he stepped over everybody to get to the kitchen.

* * *

Once everybody was up and around, it took half an hour for everyone to get ready to leave. Everybody said their goodbyes and congratulated Casey on his new apartment and headed out the door. Once they were gone, Casey padded over to his bedroom and collapsed across the bed lengthwise. He might not have had to do anything last night, but he was exhausted today, and now that everybody had gone home he could stretch out and relax.

Severide rapped on the doorframe as he entered the room.

Or not. With a disgruntled groan, Casey pushed up on the mattress to turn over and look at him.

"What is it?" he tiredly asked. "I thought you went home."

"Yeah well..." Kelly said dismissively. He looked over at the corner of the room for a minute, and Casey turned back over and buried his face in the covers, then Kelly said to him, "I know it's a few days until Christmas but...I thought...maybe you want to open my present now."

Casey opened one eye curiously, and rolled halfway over on his back and asked in a slightly surprised tone, "You got _me_ a present?"

"Haven't I every year for the last 20 years?" Kelly asked.

That was true, but after the events of last night, Casey definitely wasn't expecting it.

"It's down in my car, I'll go get it," Kelly told him, and left the room.

Casey lay there for a minute taking this in, and when he heard Severide's footsteps disappear down the stairs, he got up, and looked out the window and saw Kelly get something out of the trunk of his car. Matt headed out to the living room and stood there for a few seconds before the door opened and Kelly reappeared carrying a large wrapped package.

"Don't tell anyone, I had Stella help me wrap it," he said as he kicked the door shut behind him.

Casey stood in the middle of the room and just looked at him.

"What is it?" Kelly asked.

"Don't move," Casey told him, and disappeared back in the bedroom.

He came back a minute later, carrying a small wrapped package.

"I couldn't very well try and hide this in your apartment, that's why I had to move before the holidays," Casey said as he handed it to Kelly, who'd set Casey's present on the couch.

Kelly took it, and found himself in mild shock. It wasn't a very big package but, he looked at Casey questioningly. Casey instead looked at the larger gift on the couch and told Kelly, "Open yours first, I know it can't compete with what you got me."

Kelly doubted that, he steadied the box in one hand and ripped the paper off with the other, and he chuckled.

"Oh I don't know, Matt," he replied as he held up the box of cigars, "I think these are going to see a lot of use."

"I know it's not too original," Casey said, "but I knew it was something you liked."

"Screw original," Kelly said around a small laugh, "This is great. Now open yours."

Casey looked at the package that was wrapped in wreath decorated paper and tied with a fat red ribbon. It was obvious from the looks of it that whatever it was wasn't in a box, but he still wasn't sure where to start on it. Finally he just grabbed the paper on top and ripped it apart.

A small sound escaped from his throat.

He'd torn the paper halfway down the present, and sticking out the top was a rolled up, royal blue, queen size plush throw. Casey pulled it out of the paper and unrolled it to its full length, and he turned and looked at Severide with curiosity, and gratitude.

"It's a lot nicer than the fleece blanket you had," Kelly said. "But don't tell Cindy."

"I...I don't know what to say...it...thank you," Casey said.

"It's practical, but not unsightly, you need it, you'll use it, but," Kelly told him, "I knew you'd never get it for yourself."

"Probably right," Casey replied with a small laugh as he found himself draping it over his shoulders and trying it out, he hadn't planned for the sound to come out of his throat that did when he felt how soft it was, but it told Kelly that he'd definitely made the right choice, and his own face lit up at this fact.

"I...I..." Casey choked on a self conscious laugh, "I just don't know what to say."

"You're great at planning out complex stuff, Casey, but you need a little help in the day-to-day area," Kelly said.

Casey laughed, and with the throw still draped over him, reached over and hugged Kelly.

"Thank you," he stepped back and looked at the paper on the couch and asked as he pulled out a dark green throw of equal size and softness, "But why'd you get two of them?"

"One for the bed, one for the couch, that way when I'm staying over this winter I'll be plenty warm too," he answered, "because I plan on staying over a lot. That is..." he paused, "if you'll have me." Casey looked at him and Kelly replied, "I mean if you moved out because you were feeling too crowded, I get it-"

Casey shook his head, "No, that wasn't it at all...I just needed something of my own again. Of course..." he half choked on the words, "of course you're welcome to come over anytime. You know that."

Kelly closed the gap between them and hugged Casey.

"Can I come over after next shift?" he asked.

He felt Casey nod against him.

"Can I stay till shift after next?" he asked.

"Sure," Casey said.

"Good. I hate spending Christmas alone."

Casey sighed and reciprocated the hug as he replied, "Me too."


	3. Chapter 3

Kelly grunted as he entered the apartment and kicked the door behind him carrying several bags. "I'm never going shopping on Christmas Eve again."

"I didn't think anybody was that stupid," Casey said, "this is the worst day to try and get presents."

"Who said anything about presents?" Kelly asked, "I was at the _supermarket_. I just about got into a fistfight with a pregnant woman over the last frozen turkey."

"You're kidding," Casey turned in his chair with a laugh.

"Then I found out she was pregnant and I couldn't hit her," Kelly said as he dropped the bags on the kitchen floor. "She grabbed it by the handle and tried hitting me over the head with it. I got us a ham instead."

"Safer choice," Casey commented through a stifled grin.

"And already thawed," Kelly picked up the bag and dumped a 20-pound ham on the table, which shook the table.

"Oh goodie," Matt said cynically, "we're gonna be eating ham sandwiches until Groundhog's Day."

"We'll put it in tonight and it'll be ready for lunch tomorrow."

"It's already cooked, isn't it?" Casey asked. "That's the whole point _of_ ham."

"Yeah but you gotta cook it slow to get the juice for the gravy. I got everything we're going to need: potatoes, rolls, stuffing, vegetables-"

"It's just us tomorrow, isn't it, Kelly?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, but you gotta start eating better," Kelly told him, "and it would help if you had more than one pan for cooking."

"On my list," Casey replied, "I still need a few things for the apartment."

"I know," Kelly said as he pulled out the chair next to Casey and sat down. He picked up one of the bags and dropped it on the table and started taking the contents out, "You ever have a ham with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries?"

"Can't say I ever have."

"My mom used to make it, it was pretty good."

"That's your definition of 'eating better'?" Casey asked with a laugh.

"Hey it's Christmas," Kelly remarked.

"Only time in the year you could get away with eating like that," Casey teased.

"We're firemen, we'll work it off on the next shift," Kelly insisted.

"Probably."

* * *

After dinner, after the dishes were done, Casey and Severide settled on the couch with a couple beers and tuned in to the annual "A Christmas Story" marathon on TV. Early on into the movie, Kelly looked over and saw Matt wasn't even watching the TV, he was staring at the Christmas tree, covered in bright colored lights, shining through silver tinsel from top to bottom.

"You like it?" he asked.

Casey blinked. "Love it," he said almost too quietly to even be heard. In a normal tone he told Kelly, "You really shouldn't have bothered, it's all too much."

"You're worth it," Kelly told him. "Besides, this way we _both_ got one this year."

Casey looked at him and smiled. Then he looked back at the tree and the way it shimmered, and he commented, "Could look at it all night."

Kelly nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

Midnight. Officially it was now Christmas. Severide would almost swear somewhere he could actually hear a clock striking the hour. He decided to leave the lights on the tree on for the night, and he quietly padded over to Casey's bedroom, wrapped up in the green throw he'd gotten for the couch, a mischievous smirk on his face as he all but tiptoed through the chilly apartment over to the captain's room. The door was shut but the bolt hadn't held so he just pushed it open and quietly sneaked in.

Casey had apparently decided to keep the lights on the headboard, they were plugged in, lighting up the room in various colors but not too brightly. But it gave Kelly a perfect view of his best friend asleep in the bed, who already looked dead to the world, and very contented as he lay on his side of the bed with the blue throw Kelly had given him draped over him covering everything from his feet to his chin, he would swear Casey was almost smiling in his sleep.

Beaming to himself, Kelly tiptoed around to the other side of the bed and very slowly and quietly climbed in the other side of the bed and draped his throw over himself as well to keep fully warm until the morning. Casey never even noticed the presence of another person in the room, he just lay on his back and breathed slowly, rhythmically, not seeming to have a care in the world right now.

Kelly leaned over and softly kissed Matt on the forehead and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Casey."

* * *

Casey woke up once and saw the room was dimly lit by the Christmas lights, and found Kelly asleep beside him, wrapped up in his own blanket, though for some reason Casey didn't feel surprised by this sudden revelation. He heard Severide take a particularly large breath and saw him open his eyes too.

"What time is it?" Casey asked.

Kelly turned his head and looked at the clock. "5:30."

Casey leaned back against the pillow and softly moaned. "Do we have to get up early for anything?"

Kelly thought for a minute and asked him, "Do you want to?"

"No," Casey tiredly answered with a weak shake of his head.

"Then we won't," Kelly answered.

Casey let out a combined groan and a small laugh as he turned on his side to look at Kelly.

"I always got up early on Christmas, I was always scared I'd miss something," Matt told him, he yawned and added, "I still wake up early but all I do now is go back to bed."

"Hey, the lives we lead, that sounds like a good way to spend Christmas morning to me," Kelly said with a tired smile.

Another tired laugh escaped Casey. He re-curled himself up under his blanket and said in a teasing tone though the sentiment was real, "Thank you for my Christmas present, I love it."

Now it was Kelly's turn to laugh.

"Go back to sleep," he told Casey.

"Goodnight," Matt replied as he rolled over onto his other side.

"Goodnight."

* * *

When Casey and Severide woke up again, this time the room was brightly lit from the sun pouring in the window and the near blinding glare it cast on the snow outside.

"What time is it now?" Casey asked.

"7:30," Kelly answered.

"Guess we gotta get up this time?" Matt asked.

"You want to?" Kelly asked.

"Might as well and get some breakfast," he answered as he reluctantly tossed his covers down to the foot of the bed.

Kelly couldn't argue with that, he reluctantly shed his layers of blankets as well. They made the bed and Casey headed to the door and was the first one out, then he suddenly stopped and Kelly about walked into him.

"What is it?" he asked.

Casey just stared ahead into the living room, at the Christmas tree that had been left on all night, and the pile of brightly wrapped presents that lay under it now.

"Wha-how-who-hu-Kelly?" Casey was beyond simple words.

He turned to his best friend hoping to find an answer there, and got it in the form of Kelly looking like he was trying to _swallow_ his cat-that-swallowed-the-canary expression on his face.

"You did this?" Casey asked.

"Who, me?" Kelly asked, feigning ignorance.

"I don't get it," Matt shook his head. "How did you do it?"

That was Kelly's secret, and what it was was he'd made sure Casey was already in a dead sleep before he contacted the others to bring over the presents they'd picked up for him, and working quickly and quietly they'd entered the apartment with the goods and set them by the tree before leaving just as quickly as they'd arrived. Kelly had spent enough time around Casey's apartment to know he was still lacking in several things to complete his new home, and made a list of all the things he was lacking, and 51 did a new variation on the idea of a Secret Santa. Everything on the list was torn into individual scraps and everybody got something different to buy for their captain.

"Come on," Kelly put his hand on Casey's shoulder, "Let's see what you got."

An awkward smile slowly formed on Matt's face as he started to realize that this was actually happening, and the two firemen went over to the tree where Casey picked up the brightly colored packages ones by one and looked them over, but he didn't open any of them yet. Kelly watched him pick them all up and look them over, then was confused when he saw the smile disappear from Casey's face once he'd made his way through most of them.

"What is it, Matt? What's wrong?" he wanted to know.

With a confused and disappointed look on his face, Casey pointed out, "Kelly...there's nothing here for you to open."

Kelly almost laughed as he realized Casey still wasn't fully grasping what was going on.

"It's okay, just open them," he told him.

* * *

"Oh I am going to kick someone," Casey said as he tore the paper off his latest present, "what the hell am I going to do with a Foreman grill?"

"Eat more burgers," Kelly answered simply. "Chicago _is_ home to the biggest beef processing plant in America."

Casey reached over and elbowed him, Severide just laughed.

The floor of the living room was cluttered with all the things Matt had already opened, and all the boxes and paper and bows they'd come in, and he and Kelly sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by all of it: a DVD player and several movies, a new golf umbrella, new Blackhawks memorabilia, a set of saucepans, a blender, a food processor, what he guessed to be was Otis's doing - a hot air popcorn popper and a jar full of kernels, a new toolkit for the around-the-house repairs, a small space heater, a set of towels for the bathroom, a couple throw pillows for the couch and some framed wall art, that was definitely Brett's doing, a four-pack of Coca-Cola glasses, a floor lamp still in the box, a small inn table...

"What the hell?" Casey asked as he ripped the paper off the box for a mini stair stepper, "Whose idea was this? I don't get enough exercise on the job?"

Kelly laughed, "Well you can use it on the off days this winter when it's too cold to go out and do anything."

Casey responded by reaching for one of the discarded bows and slapping it on Kelly's hair. Severide just laughed and scooted back from Casey's reach.

"How did you guys manage to pull this off?" Matt asked him.

"That's for me to know," Kelly replied.

"I still can't believe it, especially after everything you guys did for the party."

"Well that was the idea, I knew after that you wouldn't be expecting anything," Kelly told him.

"How far back did this set you guys?"

"That's not something you ask people, you know that," Kelly replied.

"Kelly-"

"Don't worry, it's covered. Come on, open your last present."

It seemed to Casey like all he'd been doing for hours was unwrapping presents, it looked like a lot when they were wrapped, it suddenly looked like a lot more now that everything was out in the open. He grabbed the last, smaller sized box, and ripped the paper clear down the middle.

"Now what the hell is this for?" he asked as he looked at the box for a Belgian waffle iron.

"Breakfast," Kelly answered as he pulled a box of pancake mix out from behind the tree, "Come on, let's get it cracked open so we can eat."

"You are one sneaky bastard, Kelly, you know that?" Casey asked.

"Know it? I revel in it," he replied as they headed to the kitchen.

* * *

Casey moaned contentedly as he and Kelly parked themselves on the couch. Both men had stuffed themselves on waffles, bacon and sausage, and now all Casey felt like doing was vegging out on the couch as they watched more of the 24 hour marathon of "A Christmas Story". He'd just put the TV on when Kelly leaned forward on the couch and looked at the tree and said curiously, "Hey...what's that over there?"

Casey snorted, "Very funny, Kelly."

"No, I'm serious," he said, "look."

Casey looked and he saw part of a large box sticking out from behind the tree.

"What the hell?" he asked as he got up from the couch and headed over.

Whatever it was, it was huge and this one, unlike the others, was wrapped in brown packing paper. It didn't exactly blend in with the wall but it was obvious how Casey hadn't noticed it when he'd been so focused on all the presents wrapped in bright shining gift paper. Casey turned back and saw Kelly standing behind him with a smug grin on his face.

"This one's mine," he said, "open it up and see what you think."

Casey did, and with a few quick rips of the packing paper, he saw it was a rocking recliner, some assembly required.

Casey looked at Kelly and told him, "I'm not _that_ old yet, Kelly."

Severide laughed, "Trust me, I tried this baby out in the store, you're gonna _love_ it, you could sleep in it."

"Well," Casey thought, "that _would_ come in handy the next time company comes over..." He pushed the box to the side for a better look and saw the price on the shipping tag, $499.00. "Kelly!"

"You're worth it," he replied. "Besides, now you'll get to put your new toolkit to good use."

"You just think of _everything_ , don't you?" Casey asked cynically.

"I try," he answered.

Casey turned towards Kelly and hugged him. "Thank you...for everything...I don't even know where to start...I didn't expect any of this."

"I know, that's what made it so easy," Kelly smiled at him.

"But you didn't have to do it, Kelly," Casey told him, "I'm not hard up."

"I know you're not...but I wanted to, that's reason enough," he responded.

Casey had no idea what to say. Luckily he didn't have to.

"Come on," Kelly said, "let's get this thing open and put it together. Then it won't seem so empty in here."

"Well one thing about it," Casey said as he grabbed his toolkit, "definitely won't be a boring day."

Kelly ripped at the packing tape on the box and told him, "Merry Christmas, Casey."


End file.
